Nearly half of the UK’s largest companies made restatements on climate and sustainability, as new reporting rules loom

• 46 of the FTSE 100 made restatements on their sustainability metrics this year;
• Most related to changes in methodology (44%), but over a quarter (29%) related to errors;
• Of these total restatements, 89% related to greenhouse gas metrics;
• With the introduction of new EU reporting rules upcoming, which will also impact a lot of UK corporates, an increasing number of restatements are likely to become more commonplace and cover a broader range of sustainability topics.

Almost half of companies (46) in the FTSE 100 made prior year adjustments to their previously reported climate and sustainability metrics this year, according to analysis by Deloitte.

Deloitte’s analysis looked at the climate and sustainability disclosures in the most recently published annual and/or sustainability reports as of 31 December 2023.

Of the restatements made, 89% related to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) metrics, with the remainder (11%) comprised of a variety of other sustainability topics (including waste, water, diversity & inclusion, and health & safety). 32% of all restatements related to Scope 3 metrics – indirect emissions that occur in the activities of an organisation (including business travel, commuting, purchased goods and waste disposal).

The most frequent reason for restatements related to a change in method or measurement approach (44%), which is an acceptable practice for GHGs under the GHG protocol, whilst the second most frequent reason was the correction of errors (29%).

Steve Farrell, partner and head of sustainability assurance at Deloitte, said: “From greenhouse gas emissions to food waste, workforce diversity to pay gaps – companies must increasingly report metrics beyond their financial information and, crucially, those figures must be trusted by investors, employees and other users of this information.